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Scott Burris an experienced business litigator and has been certified by the Florida Bar as a specialist in International Law, including international arbitration and litigation, immigration, customs and cross-border transactions.
Mr. Burr is a magna cum laude, graduate of Albright College, Reading, PA and earned his doctorate in jurisprudence from the Dickinson School of Law of Penn State University in 1988. He also holds a Masters’ of Law in International and Comparative Law from the Georgetown University Law Center, 1994, and a Masters’ of Law in Trial Advocacy from the James Beasley School of Law of Temple University, 1999.
Mr. Burr frequently represents multinationals in disputes arising out of both inbound and outbound commerce, principally to or from the Caribbean and Latin America, and corporate and individual victims of sophisticated fraud schemes. Today, the nature of money is such that stolen funds can be instantaneously transferred across the globe. Mr. Burr has pursued such funds in jurisdictions ranging from Japan, to the Bahamas, to Latin America to Liechtenstein. He also counsels domestic and foreign financial institutions on compliance with various U.S. banking statutes and regulations, including the U.S. Patriot Act.
Mr. Burr appears in trial and appellate courts throughout the United States. He has litigated large, complex, high profile cases in the areas of RICO, white collar, securities, employment and public corruption. His recent notable work in the financial fraud area includes:
• Representation of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago in the investigation and civil prosecution of civil RICO and other claims, including locating and recovering the proceeds of crime in the United States, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Bahamas, Panama and Trinidad, arising out of a sophisticated multi-jurisdictional bid rigging and public official bribery scheme. Over US$ 40 million in assets were recovered by either freeze orders, restitution or the invalidation of contracts procured through fraud.
• Representation of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda in a civil investigation and civil claims in the United States, the Isle of Man, Switzerland and Bermuda, arising out of international fraud scheme used to siphon and launder government funds resulting from the repayment of a desalination plant financing by an arm of the Japanese government.
Mr. Burr has also appeared in many arbitrations, in numerous venues, applying various institutional rules, including ICDR, ICC, ICSID and IACAC. He has arbitrated disputes involving sophisticated cable transactions, licensing, construction and operation of power-generation facilities and a variety of distributorship, manufacturing and other trade-related agreements. His most recognized accomplishments are:
• Successfully representing a Latin American licensee that was awarded $52.6 Million as well as attorneys’ fees in an ICDR international arbitration against Converse, Inc. (Nike), the litigation of which involved parallel litigation in five different courts in the U.S., Brazil and Argentina.
• Successfully defending a Mexican satellite broadcasting company from breach of contract claims asserted by U.S. based Home Shopping Channel and prevailing on breach of contract counterclaim I CC arbitration.
• Successfully defending General Electric Medical Systems against a rogue Brazilian distributor in an IACAC international arbitration, with parallel litigation occurring in a Brazilian state court and a U.S. federal court, including the granting of a foreign anti-suit injunction and million dollar contempt sanction against the distributor.
• Representation of U.S.-based companies in ICSID arbitration against Republic of Ecuador for violation of a bilateral investment treaty in connection with a power project.
Mr. Burr also frequently lectures and publishes in his practice areas. Most recently, he was an invited featured speaker at the Lexis/Nexis Second Annual Conference on Dispute Avoidance and Resolution held in Shanghai, China where he made a presentation to corporate counsel on arbitration disputes in and outside of China when you represent a foreign company doing business in China.
Mr. Burr holds an “AV” rating, the highest ranking available for an attorney from the Martindale Hubbell rating service for attorneys. In addition to being Florida Bar Board Certified in International Law, he is certified as an Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (ACAMS).
Mr. Burr participates in the Miami Beach, Coral Gables and Greater Miami Chambers of Commerce and gives back to his community as a volunteer and member of Care Resource, an organization assisting persons living with HIV, Step-By-Step, Inc., an organization providing food and clothes to impoverished families and children in Latin America, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of South Florida, fulfilling dreams for children fighting terminal illness, Helping Hand, Inc., helping individuals battling drug addiction, and the “Put Something Back” Program of the Miami-Dade County Bar Association, assisting the indigent to save their homes from foreclosure. Admitted: 1996, Florida; 2004, New York; 1988, New Jersey; 1988, Pennsylvania; 2009, Law Society of England and Wales.
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